Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending a delegation for a new round of hostage deal negotiations this Thursday, his office announced on Sunday.
The Times of Israel reported Friday that Israeli negotiators were adding clauses to a ceasefire proposal to include new demands from Netanyahu before attending any more talks. Israeli negotiators skipped hostage deal talks last week, reportedly frustrating US officials.
The clauses include demands Netanyahu made publicly in what was seen as an effort to sabotage the chances of a deal with Hamas. The public demands came after Hamas made a significant concession and agreed to vague language that Israel didn’t think would commit it to a permanent ceasefire.
Netanyahu’s new demands include Israel maintaining control of the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi corridor. He added the condition after Egypt had previously agreed to build a US-funded “underground wall” to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas.
The prime minister is also calling for any deal to prevent armed men from entering northern Gaza, which would require an Israeli screening mechanism. Israel had previously agreed in negotiations that it would allow the unrestricted movement of Palestinians to the north, but Netanyahu reversed the concession.
Mossad Director David Barnea, the Israeli official in charge of the negotiations, has said Netanyahu’s demands may thwart a deal.
Restarting hostage negotiations on Thursday means they will begin after Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress, which is scheduled for Wednesday. He is also set to meet with President Biden during his trip to Washington, and an Israeli source told The Times of Israel that Biden dropping out of the presidential race won’t impact those plans.
Israeli sources have told the media that they thought Netanyahu would make sure there was no hostage deal with Hamas before his trip to Washington. He could then try to hold out until November in hopes that former President Trump is elected.
Netanyahu is under increasing domestic pressure to agree to a deal with Hamas, including from the Israeli military. According to the Israeli news site Walla, Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi called for Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas during a security cabinet last week.
Halevi and other military officials see a deal as the best way to secure the release of the hostages and want to give Israeli forces a rest but don’t seek a permanent ceasefire. According to Walla, Halevi told Netanyahu there would be nothing preventing Israel “from returning to fighting in Gaza, but what’s important is to reach an agreement now.”
Oye vey!… Redundancy?….
Israel has NO right to negotiate anything, when it comes to who controls what on Palestinian Land. Egypt needs to arrest the Israelis coming to negotiate, or send them back to their Wall. Someone needs to stand up and represent the Palestinians, when it comes to every decision, starting with demanding all Israeli Troops leave their LAND.
Israel has now killed so many that it can never atone for its crimes. It will be like Germany, forever guilty, forever making amends. But first, it must suffer what Germany suffered in 1945.
Trump and Kamala are totally on board with this oinker.
Sigh… more BS.
"…there would be nothing preventing Israel 'from returning to fighting in Gaza, but what’s important is to reach an agreement now.'”
So, make an agreement now that we all know will be broken. This is just playing for time. Meanwhile, Israel's economy is in a shambles, the troops are restless, this also is just waiting for the end to happen. It won't be pretty.